Craig, Bilirakis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Save Taxpayers Money by Preventing Wasteful Medicaid Payments
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) re-introduced the bipartisan Leveraging Integrity and Verification of Eligibility for (LIVE) Beneficiaries Act to prevent payments for deceased beneficiaries.
According to a recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General report, an audit of just 14 states found more than $249 million – and $3.7 million in Minnesota – in improper Medicaid capitation payments were made to Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) on behalf of deceased enrollees. This commonsense legislation would address this problem by requiring states to check the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File database on a quarterly basis and verify that Medicaid patients are not deceased and still properly enrolled in the program.
Should there be discrepancies, state Medicaid programs would be required to disenroll deceased beneficiaries from their rolls. This action will prevent MCOs from improperly billing for those who are no longer living. Senator Rick Scott has filed a companion to this legislation in the U.S. Senate.
“Minnesotans deserve to know that their tax dollars are being spent as they were intended, and it's our job as Members of Congress to root out wasteful spending,” said Rep. Angie Craig. “That’s why I’m proud to lead this commonsense bipartisan bill with Rep. Bilirakis to improve our Medicaid system and ensure taxpayers’ dollars are well-spent.”
“As we work to ensure the long-term solvency of critical safety net programs, like Medicaid and Medicare, we have an obligation to ensure we are serving as good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Gus Bilirakis. “This means we must prevent fraud, waste, and abuse whenever possible. By implementing simple safeguards like the ones in this bill, we can strengthen these programs and help ensure they are meeting their intended purpose of providing access to quality care for our most vulnerable citizens.”
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